Trail of Tears: Difference between revisions

The removals constituted forced migration and the nations being moved walked most of the way to the newly named Indian Territories. The Choctaw peoples were removed first beginning in 1831 followed by the Seminole in 1832, the Muscogees (Creek) in 1834, Chickasaw in 1837 and lastly the Cherokee in 1838. Forty six thousand Native Americans had been moved from their homelands by 1838. Thousands of them died along the way of exposure, starvation and disease.&nbsp; It is believed that some tribes lost as many as 12 to 30% of their people on the trail. The removal of the native Americans from these areas opened up 25 million acres to white settlers. <br>  

 

In 1987, over 2,100 miles of the original trails were named the "Trail of Tears National Historic Trail" by Federal Law. The trail crosses rivers, waterways and portions of nine states. Native Americans were marched through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.